World’s largest human cancer genome database released

As part of an ongoing effort to facilitate swifter progress in the fight against cancer and other related diseases, the St. Jude Children’s Hospital-Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project has released a vast amount of human cancer genome data, which is now available to scientists globally. The volume of information offered amounts to more than double the data previously open to scientists from all the other human genome sources combined.

The Pediatric Cancer Genome Project was launched in 2010 and represents the worldâ€™s most significant investment in attempting to understand the genetic origins of various forms of childhood cancers. The US$65 million price tag for the research has been met by private funding but unlike most other non-government research efforts, the data gained by the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project is offered for free, an example which the projectâ€™s leaders hope will be followed in the future.